Finncon 2014 LGBT Reading Lists

This page contains the reading lists produced by myself and Suzanne Van Rooyen for the LGBT panel at Finncon 2014. I note that we have both added to the lists since the hand-outs we had at the convention were printed.

Cheryl’s Lists

Single books

This list is by no means exhaustive. It simply includes books I have read and liked (in no particular order, and limited to one per writer). I have linked to my reviews where they are available.

* For the benefit of those of you whose eyebrows have shot up, The Forever War contains one section in which the troops return home to discover that same-sex relationships have become the norm on Earth and heterosexuality is frowned upon. Joe is, of course, simply reflecting the unease felt by Vietnam veterans returning home to find the USA full of Hippies, but I include the book here to make the point that things like this could happen in a book in 1976, and the book could still win a Hugo.

Series

Again these are all books I have read, though in the case of series possibly not all of them.

The Outremer series – Chaz Brenchley

The Orokon Saga – Tom Arden

The AngeLINK series – Lyda Morehouse

The Wraethtru books – Storm Constantine

The Element Logic series – Laurie J Marks

The Jacob’s Ladder Trilogy – Elizabeth Bear

Rhapsody of Blood – Roz Kaveney

Chaos Walking – Patrick Ness

The Siobhan Quinn books – Caitlín R. Kiernan

The Engelsfors Trilogy – Sara B Elfgren & Mats Strandberg

Dodgy Trans Books

These are all books that you will see held up by cis people are great books about trans characters, but which have some highly problematic elements. Again I have linked to my reviews.

The Female Man, Joanna Russ – basically TERF** propaganda, for which Russ has since apologized.

The Bone Palace, Amanda Downing – shock reveal and mired in trans community politics it doesn’t seem to understand.

I Will Fear No Evil, Robert A Heinlein – basically transvestite porn.

Friday, Robert A Heinlein – OK on trans, but awful in just about every other way.

A Civil Campaign, Lois McMaster Bujold – transition for political gain with no understanding of personal issues.

I got asked during the panel what I thought authors should do to treat trans characters respectfully. What I said amounted to the following:

Treat the character with the same respect you’d give any other character;

Don’t use any shock revelations in the narrative, as this plays into the narrative that trans people are somehow deceitful;

Try not to use transition narratives — there is so much more to trans people’s lives than their transition;

Try to get an understanding of the breadth of different identities encompassed by the term trans, and do not confuse different identities in one character; and

Don’t use the story to privilege one type of trans people over other types.

** Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists. The Female Man uses the TERF idea that trans women are a creation of the patriarchy intended to replace “real” women once those “real” women have become emancipated and no longer wish to associate with men. This includes the idea that “real” women are not naturally feminine, but two out of every seven men are naturally feminine.

Authors

The following authors of speculative fiction all identify somewhere on the LGBT spectrum. Apologies to those whom I have omitted. There are of course many more, but all of these are people whose work I have read, and whom I know are openly out.

Geoff Ryman

Nicola Griffith

Samuel R Delany

Ellen Kushner

Kelley Eskridge

Delia Sherman

Chris Barzack

Caitlín R Kiernan

Roz Kaveney

Chaz Brenchley

Melissa Scott

Tom Arden

Lyda Morehouse

Laurie J Marks

Ellen Klages

Patrick Ness

Rick Bowes

Malinda Lo

Severna Park

Catherynne M. Valente

Hal Duncan

Charlie Jane Anders

Nalo Hopkinson

Joanna Russ

James Tiptree Jr.

Elizabeth Bear

Steve Berman

Catherine Lundoff

Candas Jane Dorsey

Elizabeth A Lynn

Tanya Huff

Jessica Amanda Salmonson

Billy Martin (formerly Poppy Z. Brite)

David Gerrold

Thomas M. Disch

Lawrence Schimel

Kij Johnson

Sophia MacDougall

Maria Davana Headley

Tove Jansson

Oscar Wilde

Frank M. Robinson

Octavia Butler

Katherine V. Forrest

Suzanne’s Lists

Books & Series

Books I’ve read featuring LGBT+ characters or themes:

Hobverse Series by Cat Hellisen (When the Sea is Rising Red, House of Sand and Secrets)

Coda by Emma Trevayne (I’ve only read book 1 in this series)

Proxy by Alex London (I’ve only read book 1 in this series)

The Sandman graphic novel series by Neil Gaiman

Skulk by Rosie Best (I’ve only read book 1 in this series)

The Adorned by John Tristan

The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells (I’ve only read book 1 in this series)

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater (that one of the major characters is gay only becomes apparent in book 2, The Dream Thieves)